Camera used to document Pablo Picasso sells for record $2.19 million

A Leica M3D, on top, was auctioned off for 1.68 million euros (US$ 2.19 million) last Saturday. Dieter Nagl/WestLicht Auction

VIENNA — An
Austrian photo gallery says a camera used by a photographer who
documented the life of artist Pablo Picasso has sold for a world record
price of €1.68 million ($2.19 million).

The Westlicht gallery says
the Leica m3d belonged to David Douglas Duncan. The 96-year-old former
photographer for Life magazine was a close friend of Picasso and
published hundreds of exclusive photos of him.

Manufactured in 1955, the camera is one of four ever made, and the price is a world record for a commercially produced camera.

In
a statement Monday, Westlicht says the second-highest price in the
Saturday's sale was for a gold-plated Leica made in 1929, which sold for
€1.02 million ($1.3 million).